Drop the Needle

Typically when someone is coming at me with a needle, I pant a bit, whimper and never fail to whine out loud "is it going to hurt?!" I've survived 2 tattoos, a nose piercing and countless medical needles, but always felt near panic about it. Why then I wondered, have people been turning to acupuncture since 200 BCE to relax and promote good health. What is it about having a needle jammed into numerous points on your body that brings a positive sensation - and does it really? When I saw the Team Buy coupon for a $30 acupuncture session in my inbox one morning, despite my anxiety about needles, I had to check it out. So, last week, for the first time, I surrendered my delicate self to 10 piercing needles for 25 minutes...and lived to tell the tale!

My chest was a drum circle of a thousand angry hippies. My hands were clammy as I meticulously answered each of the 50 life/health questions and told myself I wasn't stalling, I was just being thorough. By the time I finally got into the treatment room, the practitioner had figured out that I was a newbie, and that I was scared. She was wonderful. She briefed me on the process, explained that acupuncture activates meridian lines in the body through stimulation points and promised that she had never witnessed anyone pass out or vomit; as per the release form I had just hesitated to sign. She went on to say that everyone has a different experience and that it's important to allow any feelings, during and after (whether positive or negative) to just be had. Great, so if I wanted to yelp and run, I could. Sweet. I like open benchmarks, anything is normal.

First, the belly. Our body's core and my stress centre, apparently. It was fast and painless. Within minutes she was done the full installation including one right between the eyes! "So, now I just lay here and try to rationalize this?" Yep, that was it. "Enjoy" she said as she left the room.
I'm not sure if it was my nerves, but something definitely felt different throughout my body. It was subtle, but I felt...heavy. A bit like having 3 glasses of wine, but not the headiness of it. At moments I would feel a bit like being on a slow wave and others, sleepy. I was sure not to move and at one point felt some pain in a specific spot on my leg. Later I learned that there hadn't even been a needle there, it was ghost pain. weird. When it was all over, I felt calm. It wasn't anything drastic, just nice.

So, there you have it. With regular sessions at $100 a pop, I won't be retuning, so unfortunately will never know if acupuncture could cure my smoking addition, but I did enjoy the experience. I do hope that the next time I get a needle, I'll be able to channel the feeling of acupuncture and just let the doctor drop the needle in. Doubtful.